The first African-American woman to become a licensed architect passed away Monday, according to the Los Angeles Times. Norma Merrick Sklarek, 85, died in her home in California of heart failure.  Sklarek, who helped produce Terminal 1 at Los Angeles International Airport and the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, broke barriers when she became a licensed architect in New York…

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee thanked President Obama today at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., for his birth control positions, according to CBS News. Huckabee said that without Obama, there would never have been a firestorm around the hot-button issue to which he believes the Republican presidential candidates have failed to pay…

President Obama told gay supporters and donors at a fundraiser yesterday that there is still more work to do in relation to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues, according to the Associated Press. Obama said that he’s proud of his track record with the LGBT community, citing having lifted the ban on gays serving…

A new study suggests that the achievement gap between rich and poor students continues to grow wider, according to the New York Times. Differences in achievements of rich and poor students have taken a backseat to the gap between black and white children in education in the last 60 years. But during that time period,…

A Pittsburgh-area high school basketball game on Feb. 3 turned ugly when fans wearing banana outfits made monkey sounds toward black players, according to Yahoo Sports. The annual game between the rivals — primarily white Pittsburgh Brentwood High and predominantly black Monessen High — turned ugly when the players were heading to the locker rooms…

A parent’s discovery of a class project involving malicious, violent images of President Obama is causing controversy in a Louisiana town, according to the Times-Picayune. The images, which included one of President Obama with a bullet hole in his head, were posted on the school’s walls. The superintendent at Boyet Junior High School in Slidell…

Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez took to the House floor on Thursday to refute the claims of Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich that President Obama is the “food stamp president.” The Illinois politician brought a portrait of former President George Bush and mounted it on the House floor. “I have to admit that when Newt Gingrich…

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will waive some payments mistakenly given to victims of Hurricane Katrina and other disasters, according to the Washington Post. Some of the overpayments to aid recipients were caused by FEMA employees’ own mistakes, according to congressional testimony. The debts, which average out to $4,622 per recipient, totaled less than 5…

Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele went on MSNBC’s Now With Alex Wagner on Tuesday night and said that gays should not equate their struggle for equality with the black civil rights movement, Mediaite reports. Steele, who was on a panel with gay-rights activist Lt. Dan Choi and panelist John Heilemann, blasted Heilemann when…

An 11-year-old Atlanta girl has become a worldwide success with her clothing line, according to My Fox Atlanta. Maya Penn has more than enough work to do with school, but the seventh-grader also spends half her time in a studio. The young entrepreneur makes eco-friendly clothing and accessories as the CEO of Maya’s Ideas. “I…